Valve operating lever for pressurized dispensers



Dec. 4, 1962 L. F. HANSEN 3,066,833

VALVE OPERATING LEVER FOR PRESSURIZED DISPENSERS Filed Oct. 28, 1960JCIE5 (070 fie/INK HA/VSA United States Patent Ofifice 3,fifi,ii38Patented Dec. 4, 1962 3,966,838 VALVE OPERAHNG LEVER FUR PRESURIZEDDESPENEERS Lloyd Frank Hansen, New City, N.Y., assignor to AmericanCyanamid (Zompany, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maine Filed Oct. 23,1960, Ser. No. 65,720 2 (Ilaims. (Cl. 222394) This invention relates toa valve operating lever for a pressurized dispenser of the typefrequently called an aerosol bomb. The present operating lever isparticularly useful for a dispensing valve which is to be held open fora prolonged period.

In the dispensing of liquids, such as vitamin preparations, or shavingcreams from pressure dispensers, the eifort required to hold a valveopen for a long period has been troublesome to certain operators.Particularly in the dispensing of liquid vitamins for small children,the user is usually a woman whose finger may tire in holding open avalve for dispensing the proper dose for a child, particularly ifseveral doses are to be dispensed in a short time. Such dispensersusually have a spout from which the liquid contents issue as a liquidstream or foam.

It has been found necessary to use a comparatively stiff operatingspring for the valve in order that the valve remain liquid-tight and notleak under the pres sure of the contents, and yet be of a type which iseconomically competitive.

Efiorts have been made to provide a dispensing mech anism to give amechanical advantage to the operator. But, in general, such devices haveused two or more parts. It is desirable that the device be simple touse, be inexpensive to produce, be convenient, and be foolproof.Additionally, it is advantageous if such a lever has additional usesaround the household, as for example, being usable as a bottle opener.

It has now been found that a single lever properly curved solves all ofthese problems, and such lever can be manufactured economically. Thedescription of certain modifications of the present lever are betterunderstood in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 shows the lever on a pressurized dispenser in operationdispensing the liquid.

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the lever alone.

'FlGURE 3 is a side view of the lever in position on the pressurizedcontainer.

FIGURE 4 shows a modification of metal in which the finger rest portionof the lever has an integral bottle opener, and is also bent in the formof a lever support hook.

FIGURE 5 is a side view of the lever of FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a view of a lever of plastic, which has a supporting hook atthe finger rest end to provide for the lever being hooked over andsupported by the rim on the dispenser can.

The present lever may be constructed of plastic or metal. Whenconstructed of a molded plastic, as shown in FIGURE 1, the operatinglever 11 is of a single piece and consists of a spout receiving portion12, which has therein a spout receiving aperture 13. When thepressurized container lid is resting on its base in the verticalposition, the valve assembly closes the top of the pressurized containerand has a valve usually pointing vertically upwards and centrallylocated. Over this valve is the valve cap 16, which is the portion seenby the user. The valve cap has a pressure plate 17, which is depressedby the user to open the valve and release the contents. For liquiddispensing and for some foams,

the valve cap has a spout 18 through which the contents of the dispenserare released.

With the container in the vertical position, resting on its base, thespout receiving portion of the operating lever is generally vertical. Atwhat would then be the upper end of the spout receiving portion is abend 19. Preferably, this bend is over so that the next portion of thelever, which is the bow portion, extends first downwardly towards thepressure plate 17, and then upwardly to a finger rest portion 21. At thebelly of the bow is a protuberance 22 which rests on'the pressure plate17.

When of plastic, the belly of the bow, including the protuberance, ispreferably thicker than the remainder of the operating lever as it is inthis portion that the greatest bending stresses occur. It is essentialthat the spout receiving portion extend up high enough so that the bendconnecting the bow portion with the spout receiving portion is above thevalve cap so that the valve cap does not interfere with the operation ofthe lever, in any position during discharge. The protuberance on thebelly of the bow, in addition to furnishing some reinforcement, alsoextends downward far enough to rest on the pressure plate so that thebow extending towards the finger rest portion does not bind on any otherportion of the valve cap during operation. The length of the bow is suchthat the finger rest portion is in a position to be convenientlycontacted by the finger of the user when the forefinger of the user, thethumb, and other three fingers of the user, are used to grip the can.Conveniently, the portions are such that the lever arm from the spoutreceiving aperture to the protuberance contacting the pressure plate isabout onethird of the total distance from the spout receiving apertureto the finger rest portion, giving a mechanical advantage of about 3 to1.

As an optional embodiment of the present invention is the shape shown inFIGURE 4, in which the finger rest portion of the how has a bottleopener 23 formed integral therewith so that the side of the operatinglever can be used as a bottle opener of the conventional hooked type inwhich the point of the hook is caught under a crowntype cap, and thelever arm used to pry the edge of the cap using the end of the fingerrest portion as a fulcrum to remove the cap.

Additionally, the finger rest portion, as shown in PEG- URE 4, has asupport hook at which extends around and back towards the spoutreceiving portion, so that the support hook may be rested over a rim ofthe can as shown in FIGURE 6, which thus permits the operating lever tobe stored conveniently adjacent to the dispenser and thus avoid loss. Insuch a storage position, there is no risk of accidental operation of thedispenser.

When used as a potential bottle opener, it is desirable that theoperating lever he formed of metal. Where the strength of the bottleopener hook is not required, the operating lever, or at least the mainportion thereof, is conveniently of a plastic which may be readilymolded and which may be decorated with ornamentation appealing to users.

The dispenser itself may be of any of the conventional types usingeither a halogenated allcane or a pressurized inert gas, such asnitrogen or carbon dioxide, as a propellant. Whereas, the operatinglever may be used with any valve cap having a spout, its use isparticularly convenient with preparations such as liquid vitamins, inwhich the liquid as discharged from the spout is received in a spoon 25,or other suitable receiver. When dispensed into a measuring spoon, it isessential that the dispenser be such that the contents can be dischargedby the user with one hand, while the measuring spoon is being used toreceive and measure the contents being released. Ob-

Q3 viously, for such a type of use, it is not practical for the user touse two hands to operate the valve plate and release the contents, assometimes has been the custom with spray-type bombs in which accuratecontrol of direction in the release of contents has not been a problem.

Having described certain embodiments of the invention and their usethereof, as my invention, I claim:

1. An operating lever for a pressurized container for dispensing aliquid, which container has a valve assembly closing a dispenser can,and a valve cap fitting over said valve assembly, which valve cap has aspout thereon, and which valve cap has a pressure plate, which on theapplication of pressure, depresses a valve portion of said valveassembly, thereby dispensing the liquid in said container, comprising: aone-piece lever having a spout receiving portion having a spoutreceiving aperture therein adapted to receive and pivot on said spout ina plane approximately perpendicular to the center line of the spout; andadjacent said spout receiving portion a bend of over 109, extending intoa bow portion, a protuberance on the belly of the bow in position tocontact the pressure plate of the valve cap when the spout receivingportion is placed over the base of the spout on the valve cap, and afinger rest portion at the end of the bow opposed to said bend, saidbend and said bow being angular enough that the inner part of said bendclears the adjacent valve cap in all operating relationships.

2. The operating lever of claim 1, in which a hook portion extendsbeyond and curls under said finger rest portion, in such position thatthe operating lever may be hooked over and suspended from the rim of thedispensing can.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,046,879 Leppke July 7, 1936 2,550,272 Rubenstein et al. June 26, 19512,685,989 Samuels Aug. 10, 954 2,868,421 Schott Ian. 13, 1959

